Revel potential buyers want to keep it open after sale

All of the potential buyers of the Revel Casino Hotel are interested in keeping it open after a sale, the Atlantic City casino resort's president said Thursday.

The main casino workers' union has expressed concern that a sale could result in the shutdown of the casino or large-scale job losses, but Revel President Scott Kreeger said that all of the interested parties planned to continue operating it. He said the casino had spoken with 20 to 30 potential buyers and was narrowing the field down.

"We talked to every major and even minor gaming company in the U.S. about the Revel opportunity, and I never had any conversation with anyone relating to a closure," Kreeger told The Associated Press. "We are optimistic that discussions with these parties are progressing well."

By the end of this year, Kreeger hopes to conclude a deal that could take the form of an outright sale of Revel, a strategic alliance with another company, or a joint venture among two or more companies to operate it. He also said he could not rule out a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

"It is premature to speculate on the results of this process, but we are mindful of our employees' concerns regarding job stability," Kreeger said.

Revel is the city's only non-union casino, but Local 54 of the labor union Unite-HERE is pressing Revel's owners to protect workers' jobs if a sale occurs.